AN ENGLISH PRIMROSE.
The voyage, begun on a rough sea, was continued over angry waves. For
seven days the ship was beaten by the winds. It was the first time
Oliver and Mattie had been outside of Kentucky. Added to the distress of
seasickness was the thought that, after this passage to England, another
voyage of almost three months awaited them before they could set foot
upon the strange land selected for their missionary labors. No wonder as
the bride was borne farther and farther across the uneasy Atlantic, her
thoughts went constantly back to Kentucky--"That far-off land," she
writes, "my beautiful, sunny Southland."
Since the wedding-day, there have been a marvelous succession of strange
scenes--the trip to New York, the hurried visits to points of interest
in New York and Brooklyn, the mingling with the rush and roar of
Broadway, and, stranger than all these, this helpless tossing in the
cabin, as the ship throbs and lifts dizzily in air--lifts to sink down
and down, as if never to ride the sea again.
"That Twenty-Sixth day of March!" she writes in pencil with shaking
hand. "It dawned so bright and beautiful. In its soft morning twilight I
knelt before an altar, and laid thereon not only the heart of a bride,
but all that I had best known in childhood and in girlhood: Home with
all its tender associations, friendship whose face shone as the face of
an angel--the sweet brier that shed its fragrance beneath my window, the
birds that sang for me, the dear old 'big spring' over whose
cooling-ripples I have so often stooped to drink"--she remembers all
these, as the ship bears her farther from that America she may never see
again.
"Our blessed land of liberty," she says, "proud, beautiful, glorious
America!" Truly, the war is over; and as she steams ever farther away
from America, its states seem to melt magically into one another, and
North and South blend, and become an indissoluble Union.
One day, less stormy than the rest, the young husband crept from his
berth, hoping to find relief from days of nausea by greeting the keen
wind. He went upon deck, and was presently engaged in conversation with
a stranger.
He found that his companion was an Englishman who, for some time, had
been in business in Chicago. He was much interested in the young man's
missionary plans; the shrewd merchant read aright the intense zeal which
shone upon the Kentuckian's face, and which trembled in his voice. "I
have a brother living in London," he said; "when you go there, you must
go to his house. I am on my way to visit him now, and I'll meet you
there."
Oliver Carr had no intention of going to test the hospitality of a
stranger, and, when he gave Mr. Murby his card, he supposed the incident
closed. On the eighth day out the ship touched at Queenstown. Mr. and
Mrs. Carr--we must no longer call them "Oliver" and "Mattie,"--took a
ride on a Jaunting Car--in which one sits sidewise, while one's driver
sparkles with Irish wit. A woman came to sell them fruit, and offered to
toss pennies for the difference between what she wanted and they were
willing to give. It was a jolly crowd that surrounded them, and every
Irishman had a funny tale to tell the travelers. Before the ground
ceased its semblance of rocking to and fro, they were again on board.
When they landed in Liverpool, everything seemed new and strange. They
"found cabs instead of busses;" but doubtless the difference was most
marked because they found Englishmen instead of Americans. At the hotel
they were visited by G. Y. Tickle and other members of the church, and
in the afternoon they crossed to Berkinhead to visit other Christians.
On April 29th the train pulled out at 9 a. m. for London. Mrs. Carr took
a few notes, as she looked upon Mrs. Browning's world--the world of
"Aurora Leigh."
"Corn--undulating lands--rural improvements--daisies and primroses.
Hedges--winding roads, and footpaths. Drains in the lowlands. Winding
brooks and brooklets, through daisied meadows. Fir-clad hills."
Out of this primrose England, the car glides into the smoke and fog of
London. London at last--how far away from the Lancaster and Stanford of
one's girlhood! How far, indeed, even from the dreams of one's girlhood,
this city that rises up, solidly real before the young woman's eyes! It
seems pulsing with the thoughts of those who represent, to her mind, the
highest peaks of literature; Dickens and Thackeray, George Eliot and
Robert Browning, Bulwer Lytton and Macaulay and Carlyle and De
Quincy--all are living; one might meet them any moment on Oxford or
Regent streets, where "I took a promenade," she says; "I find they
surpass Broadway in all but dress."
At 2:30, they are installed at the hotel; at three, they take luncheon
and at four they have a visitor. It is the brother of the Chicago
merchant. The merchant has written about the missionaries, and asked
that they be looked up--doubtless, suspecting that the overtures must
come from the English side. So this brother has come, a Mr. Murby of
some distinction; for does he not edit the music department of the
_Cornhill Magazine_?
He insists on the young bridal pair going to his own home; for O. A.
Carr, in honor of the honeymoon, has selected a hotel of much
pretention. "You must go with me," says Mr. Murby. "It is too expensive,
staying at a hotel like this; you shall make your home in my house. My
wife will take no refusal. She will entertain you as well as she can--we
have one baby in the cradle, and another three years old. I've brought
the wagon for the trunks."
All this from a man and woman one has never seen before, and never heard
of, except from a chance fellow-passenger; a man and a woman who do not
belong to one's church and has never heard of one's friends! But, after
all, is it so strange? If one travels through the world with eyes open
for primroses, and finds them growing along the wayside, why should not
eyes that seek brotherly kindness, find it blooming in many a stranger's
heart?
Away go the trunks, and the hotel knows our friends no more. Two weeks
are to be spent in England, before sailing for the opposite side of the
globe; and while they are in England, Mrs. Murby leaves the baby in the
cradle, and acts as guide for the Americans. In their hurried visit,
they could have seen little without her. She takes them to ride in the
underground railroad, shows them the wonders of the waxworks, at the
entrance of which stands George Washington with extended hand, and
lingers with them in the British Museum.
Mrs. Carr's notes of her travels are meager in the extreme; she was too
busy observing and studying, to write about what she saw; but the
necessary enlargement of thought resulting from extended travel was to
take its own part in developing her personality. "Chelsea Hospital for
old soldiers--Buckingham Palace, the Queen's residence--Eaton
Square--National school teachers trained for public schools--Duke of
York's school--Geological exhibit--rock crystal--wood carving--Porcelain
plate, 1585, Francesco de Medici--Venetian wine glass--Danish
drinking-horn--Paul preaching at Athens--Christ changing the water into
wine--Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate--Hogarth's Marriage a la
Mode--Mrs. Siddons as Actress--Rosa Bonheur--Edwin Landseer--Hyde
Park--House where the Duke of Wellington died--Parliament--Retiring
Room--Her Majesty with Mercy and Justice in sculpture--Portrait of Kings
and Queens--House of Lords--Throne--Queen's chair on the right--Prince
of Wales on the left--The Prince Consort--Woolsack, seat for Lord
Chancellor in front of Queen--Table on which are laid all
petitions--books beneath--just behind the table, the bar--gallery for
peeresses, above--Peers' Robing Room--Moses descending from the
Mount--Lobby--Embarking of Pilgrim Fathers--Charles erecting Standard at
Nottingham--Central Hall--Four windows--Lobby--Pictures--Square
Hall--Commons Speaker's Chair--gallery--Each side of entrance, seats for
liberals and tourists--St. Stephen's--Marble walls and floors--On each
side, six stained glass windows, representing scenes in life of
Stephen--On the Thames--Somerset House--Waterloo Bridge."
Thus we might follow her from spot to spot, as she hastily jots down the
names of pictures, and of the illustrious dead, amidst a catalogue of
wonders seen at the Crystal Palace, the India Museum, the National
Gallery. "St. Paul--Whispering Gallery--Sculptor above--Scenes in the
Life of Paul--Monument of Sir John Howard, Joshua Reynolds--geometrical
stairway--Crypt--Newgate Prison for all offenders within the city's
limits--Christ's Hospital, founded by Edward VI.--Boys' dress in the
costume of that day--Yellow stockings, leather breeches--Former palace
of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey--Post Office; just across the street,
Returned Letter Office--Clock with two bells, one 'Time,' the other
'Death'--Publishing House belonging to the Religious Tract Society,
built over the place where the martyrs suffered under Bloody Mary--Guild
Hall--for public dinners--Grand dinner given to the Sultan--gold
array--The Lord Mayor conducts trials--His Residence--Monument to
Nelson.
"May 5th, the Tower--Gateway--Entrance, moats--Bell Tower--Bloody Tower,
porte cullis--White Tower, 15 feet thick--Built, time William the
Conqueror--Norman spear used by him--Dress of 1665--Gun taken by French
at Malta and afterwards recaptured by English--Sir Walter Raleigh
imprisoned 12 years--Lady Jane Grey--Queen Elizabeth on Horseback--Fire,
1841--Indian armor, 1750--Chamber from which Hastings was ordered to
execution--Anne Boleyn's prison in the Tower--Beauchamp Tower." And so
on, and on, from one spot of historic interest to another, the travelers
absorbing all with thirsty minds, the hostess tireless, or at least
uncomplaining--and at night the profound sleep of the sight-seer's utter
exhaustion.
Mr. and Mrs. Murby took the stranger-guests to their hearts, and treated
them like long-lost friends. The perfume of their gracious hospitality
invested London with a tender aroma for these wanderers, to such a
degree that whenever they afterward thought of England, they thought of
disinterested kindliness. On one of Mrs. Carr's diary-pages, is to be
seen a faint brownish stain, above which is written: "Found by Mrs.
Murby on the streets of London--this primrose." The flower has long
since slipped away and crumbled to dust, since it was placed there in
the spring of 1868; I should like to think that it blooms again on my
page, in honor of that quick and loving eye that discovered the primrose
in the London streets, and the gold in the strangers' hearts.
[Illustration: Conway Castle, N. Wales]
[Illustration: Beaumaris Castle, N. Wales]
On Sunday, they went to hear Spurgeon preach. It was a very ordinary
sermon; his statements had been made thousands of times before, and to
none who listened, were they new. His manner was untheatrical, his flow
of eloquence was not intense. Everything was the essence of simplicity.
He began by holding up a rose. He said that on his way to the
tabernacle, a woman had given it to him. He spoke of his happiness
caused by this simple gift, then of the beauty of flowers, and of
giving; and, as the audience of 3,000 listened, they were melted to
tears. His subject was the Accessibility of Christ. It was the
_tenderness_ in his words and voice that wrought the charm. The singing
was general; it seemed that each of the 3,000 took upon himself the
responsibility of carrying the song through to its conclusion.
In Birmingham, the Carrs visited David King, editor of the _Harbinger_;
he was the most prominent member of the Christian Church in England, of
his day. It was his custom to question the preachers who passed through
his country, to find out if they were "sound." It was from him that Mr.
Carr discovered the British objection to the American custom of
extending an invitation to the unsaved at the conclusion of the sermon.
It was also Mr. King who went to the office to buy the Carrs their
tickets up to London, fearing they would not get second-class ones.
"Only fools and noblemen ride first-class in this country," was his
dictum; "the second class is just as good and costs half as much."
The following brief notes show us that Mrs. Carr is in Scotland:
"Holyrood--Rezzio's Slaughter--Residence of bygone monarchs--where Lord
Murray held his Council--Residence of Mary Queen of Scots--where Her
Majesty stops, when in Edinburg--Castle of Craigmillar--where Mary
sometimes held her court--Lochleven Castle."
She was particularly interested in Wales: "Canarvon Castle, built by
Edward I.--First Prince of Wales born here--April 25, 1284--Chamberlain
Tower, occupied by the Lord Chamberlain--Eagle Tower, so called because
of the Eagle Sculpture on its turret. Prisoner, or Dungeon Tower. It is
supposed this castle was never completed. The banqueting hall, entirely
destroyed--In this castle the present Prince and Princess of Wales were
entertained during their visit to Canarvon, April 24. On this occasion,
Wellington Tower was magnificently decorated.
"North Wales--across the straight of Angelsey; lodgings here. Ebb and
flow of the tide--Hawthorne--a beautiful lodge, the entrance to a
residence--Suspension bridge over the Menia Strait--Castle--Model
village, Bethesda, near the slate quarries--20 galleries, each 60 feet
high--the deeper the quarry, the better the slate--Tunnel and railways
with round rails and grooved wheels, working with rope--Blasting signal,
first a red flag, then the bugle. Each gallery one mile around the
rail--1,200 feet from lowest gallery to top--300 men employed. Total
wages per month, 1,200 pounds.--Penryln Castle, 16 years building,
completed 30 years ago--Main entrance, heavy iron gate, swinging on
massive pillars of stone, with imposing ivy-clad arch above; winding
roads and bypaths; through rare shrubs and gorgeous flowers of
innumerable species--Main entrance to Castle yard, a massive orchid
gateway--Main entrance to Castle, massive cross-barred iron doors in
base of tower--Four towers with the ivy, beautiful emblem of trust,
clinging to them all--Interior; entrance hall, billiard room,
innumerable lobbies with rare ceilings, main stairway, bedrooms with
antique furniture, drawing-room, dining and breakfast rooms, library,
chapel for family worship, minor stairways, etc.--Family of 10 children,
two married and now in London--will return here in July. Culinary
apartments; cook's sitting-room, where he writes the bill of fare."
All these sights, crowded as they are into a few days, delay the
departure for Australia; moreover, the travelers have decided to take a
sailship. They have sufficient knowledge of the deathly throb of the
steamer, the quiver that sends unutterable faintness and nausea to those
susceptible to seasickness. The sailship, they are told, skims the waves
like a bird--one hardly knows he is afloat, or knowing, feels himself
lightly carried through the air.
Mrs. Murby finds her new acquaintances have not left, and writes to Mrs.
Carr at Liverpool, on May 15th, "I was very much pleased to receive your
letter yesterday; I had supposed you would be far away from Old England
by this time. I just wish you had stayed with us longer! There are lots
of places besides the British Museum, I could have taken you to see. You
say you are to leave on Saturday, the 19th, but the 19th is Tuesday, so
we can hear from each other if we cannot meet. If I can find that church
in Camden Town, for your sakes I will visit it. The few days we spent
together will always be remembered by us with pleasure. I sincerely
trust we may all be spared to meet again; you may rest assured of a
hearty welcome. In the meantime we can correspond with each other. I
went to sit for my portrait yesterday; it will be ready for me
to-morrow, and I will send it to you before you leave Liverpool."
So writes the editor's wife--she who finds primroses in the streets of
London; and her letter comes as a last voice of love to one about to
embark upon a sea-voyage of more than a hundred days.